


Aperture Science Innovations

by cinomarsh



Category: Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Human Experimentation, Moral Ambiguity, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-06-07 22:34:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6827935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinomarsh/pseuds/cinomarsh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Cave Johnson comes up with the idea for another, riskier Human Testing Initiative, Caroline doesn't know what to think. Based on Geekenders' interpretation of old aperture.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aperture Science Innovations

Caroline leaned back against the wall of the elevator at Aperture Science Innovations and yawned, running a hand through her hastily-brushed hair. She'd been in a bit of a hurry this morning after having slept in, which was an unheard of occurrence for her, and she'd had to skip breakfast in favour of an apple in order to make it to work on time. She certainly wasn't going to allow her reputation of punctuality to slip just because she'd been working late the night before.

Her late nights at the office had become more frequent lately. The slight decline in Aperture's funding had led to some lay-offs, and that meant science that wasn't getting done. Caroline had been more than happy to pick up the slack, insisting that with hard work, surely she and Mr. Johnson could help the company bounce back. But her body wasn't appreciating the loss of sleep.

The elevator reached the main floor of the underground facility much sooner than she would've liked, and the doors opened to the standard organized chaos that was Aperture. First thing in the morning and everyone was already bustling about, filling the air with their demands, requests and mumbled apologies at almost having run into one another. Caroline glanced at the clock and winced. She hadn't quite made it on time. Hopefully Mr. Johnson hadn't called for her yet.

She stepped out of the elevator, nearly knocking over a nervous intern, and headed towards the coffee maker on the opposite side of the room. She recognized the scientist using it before he even turned around; the neat brown hair and pink shirt under his lab coat were a dead giveaway. She straightened, determined not to look tired.

"Good morning, Craig." She greeted him pleasantly. He jumped, startled, spinning around to face her and spilling his half-full cup of coffee in the process. Most of it missed her.

"M-miss Caroline! I'm s-so sorry-" He stammered, his cheeks colouring.

"It's alright, just go get some napkins." She told him, repressing the urge to laugh. She filled her own plastic cup with coffee as he ran off and returned with far more napkins than he needed. The liquid burned her throat but she hardly noticed.

"Has anyone asked for me yet today?" She asked as Craig scrubbed the floor viscously. He shook his head.

"Not even Richard?" She continued, smirking. Richard, or Rick, as everyone else called him, always had something to say about how lovely she looked that day or how there was a nice pub down the street that he thought she'd maybe like to visit with him sometime or something like that. Not that she was particularly interested in any of his offers, of course, she was far too busy for that sort of thing, but seeing him during the work day had become somewhat a part of her routine.

"Rick is late. Again." Craig informed her, a hint of disapproval in his voice as he stood and disposed of the coffee-soaked napkins in a wastebasket.

Before Caroline could comment, the speakers on the walls crackled on, the familiar booming voice of Aperture's owner and CEO filling the room.

"Good morning, everybody," the voice began as a hush fell over the office, "Just a reminder that since today is thursday, you guessed it; it's cleaning day. So, those of you whose turn it is this week, throw on those haz-mat suits and head on downstairs. Those animal splicing units certainly aren't going to clean themselves, and the regular janitors won't go near them, so get to it! And Caroline, please report to my office immediately." The announcement ended with a tiny click as the lively mix of noises resumed and a few dejected-looking scientists got up from their desks and trudged down a hallway to the right, grumbling. Caroline wished they wouldn't make such a fuss. Science had to be done, wether they liked it or not.

"Looks like I'm needed." She said to Craig, smiling politely and handing him her fresh cup of coffee before turning to go.

"Have an excellent day, Miss Caroline!" He replied enthusiastically, waving to her back and nearly spilling his corfee a second time as she walked away. He was a little odd, perhaps, but she appreciated the approach he took to his work. Aperture could use more people like him.

After a bit of skillful navigation and a couple near-collisions, Caroline stood in front of the tall double doors that led into her boss' office, her stomach flipping slightly at the thought of seeing him. She knew that it was silly to be excited to see him; she'd seen him yesterday and the day before, but she couldn't shake the feeling of anticipation that accompanied the experience every time. She knocked gently on the door before pushing it open and walking inside.

Cave was standing behind his large, polished desk, leaning over some disorganized-looking files. There was a small chair facing his desk and on either side of him were two bookshelves pressed against the walls, filled with books that Caroline suspected her boss had never actually read. There were some filing cabinets here and there and a large plant (that Caroline watered for him every week) sitting in a corner. Cave looked up as she walked in, smiling broadly at the sight of her. His assistant knew that smile well. He only used it when he had a new idea, and she was already excited to see what he was up to.

"Caroline! Excellent, c'mere, I have to show you this." He beckoned emphatically to her with his arm, almost like a child. Caroline giggled softly.

"Good morning, sir." She replied, walking over to his side of the desk to stare at the mess of papers strewn across it.

They were mostly forms, with top to bottom text and the standard dotted line at the bottom for signatures. She picked up one of the pages to examine. It was titled "Aperture Science Human Testing Initiative."

Caroline was puzzled.

"Sir," she began tentatively, "We already tried a human testing initiative. With all those olympians and astronauts..."

Cave rubbed his face with his hand.

"Yeah... We did some good science with them. But you remember what happened to the last subject?"

Caroline was quiet for a minute, looking at the floor.

"He died, sir."

"He sure did. Got us in a heap of trouble. He signed up for that test, what happened wasn't our fault!" Cave rubbed his face again, balling his hands into fists and turning away for a moment before looking back at the table.

"So what's different this time?" Caroline asked cautiously. Cave grinned at her.

"Oh, this time everything's going to be different! First thing's first, we hand these forms out to people living on the street-"

"The street? You mean, homeless people?" Caroline interjected, not entirely sure where her boss was going with this new idea.

"Step two: tell anyone with a form that sixty dollars will be awarded to participants-"

"Mr. Johnson, we can't afford that!" Caroline interrupted again.

"This plan is gonna pay for itself, kiddo, just you wait. Step three: they sign the form and we have a whole new batch of test subjects!" Cave finished, clapping his hands together in front of him.

Caroline looked at the form in her hands, reading it over. After a brief silence she looked back up at her boss, his eyes boring into hers. Her stomach flipped again and she almost had to look away.

"Mr. Johnson," she began slowly, "there's no mention of the risks involved in the tests. None at all."

Cave continued to grin.

"That's the best part," he told her, "I talked to my lawyers and they said that this document completely clears Aperture of any blame if anything happens, and it looks completely safe! It's fool proof! Not to mention plan C."

"Plan C?" She asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Well, I've also got a list queued up of all my employees and their positions here. If we don't get as many signatures as we'd like, I can start Mandatory Employee Testing! Lawyers say there's nothing wrong with that either, since they all signed on when they got their jobs."

Caroline was speechless. She could remember sitting in this very office on her first day, signing a form saying she agreed to accept responsibility for any work-related injuries. She hadn't even read it over, she'd just smiled and signed her name. She wondered how many others didn't know what they were in for. Working at Aperture was dangerous at the best of times, even when you were prepared.

She thought of desperate people on the streets, signing up for testing after promises and a smile from Cave. She imagined them in the testing chambers, confused and afraid and alone. She imagined her co-workers; Craig, Rick-

"Kid? You alright?" Cave was looking at her, an uncharacteristic touch of concern clouding his features. She realized she must have been staring at the floor for a while. She swallowed.

"Mr. Johnson... This isn't right. You can't do this to people, people who don't even know..."

Cave looked taken aback.

"But... it's for science. Think about how much we could learn from this, how much progress we could make! Aperture would be on top again, the centre for scientific development! We'd make history, Caroline."

Those words: _Science. Progress. Development. History._ That was what she'd wanted when she'd taken the job at Aperture. She'd been so excited to start work and still loved every day. She wanted to learn and change the world. She wanted to examine the unknown and create the impossible. She'd believed that Cave Johnson's vision could get her there before. This could change lives. This could build the future.

She looked up at his face. He was a bit taller than she was, and she only then noticed how close he was standing. Very close. His eyes met hers and held them.

"I need you with me on this." He told her earnestly. She'd never heard him talk like that with her before. Suddenly, there was no question what she'd do. She knew.

"Okay, sir. For science." She told him, smiling slightly.

Cave grinned at her again, grabbing her shoulders and kissing her on the forehead in excitement.

"That's my girl!" He said, laughing. Caroline positively beamed. He put his arm around her shoulders and sighed, looking at the papers that formed his grand plan.

"You and me, Caroline. We're gonna do big things."

"Yes sir, Mr. Johnson." Caroline replied, smiling ear to ear. He was right, they would do great things. With every word he said she was more certain. Cave laughed again, moving his arm back and rubbing his hands together.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Caroline asked. Cave searched through the pile of papers for a moment before producing a folder and handing it to her.

"Take these to Marketing, will ya?" He asked. She nodded and headed for the door, but a thought and a twist in her gut stopped her in her tracks. She turned around.

"Mr. Johnson?"

"Hm?"

She paused for a moment.

"You said you had a list of employees to use... for plan C..." She began.

"Yes?"

Another pause.

"Am... I on it, sir?"

Cave's blank expression broke into another bout of thunderous laughter.

"Of course not! I need ya too damn much. This place couldn't survive without you!"

Caroline sighed, smiling again. Satisfied with his answer, she left his office.


End file.
